“Bos San, bisakah kau tidak melakukan semuanya selangkah demi selangkah?!”
Li Cai dan yang lainnya hampir terkencing-kencing ketika melihat gelombang makhluk iblis menerjang ke arah mereka. Jumlahnya seolah tak ada habisnya.
“Kultivasi adalah perlombaan melawan waktu. Begitu kau berhenti untuk menarik napas, musuhmu akan melewatimu. Setelah dilewati, kau akan tersingkir. Dan akibatnya adalah kematian. Survival of the fittest adalah prinsip utama, dan itu kejam. Jika kau tidak kejam terhadap dirimu sendiri, masa depanmu akan jauh lebih kejam,” kata Long Chen acuh tak acuh.
Makhluk-makhluk iblis itu mengaum. Tidak ada tempat bagi Long Chen dan yang lainnya untuk bersembunyi. Medan ini sangat tidak menguntungkan bagi mereka karena mereka dikepung dari segala arah.
Namun, karena musuh sudah datang, mereka tidak punya pilihan selain mengerahkan seluruh kekuatan. Mereka mengeluarkan senjata dan menghadapi musuh secara langsung.
Li Cai dan yang lainnya mengertakkan gigi lalu menyerang. Darah dan daging pun berhamburan ke udara. Daya bunuh Li Cai dan yang lainnya memang luar biasa, tetapi jumlah makhluk iblis itu terlalu banyak. Setiap kali mereka membunuh satu, makhluk lain langsung menggantikannya. Setiap gelombang yang berhasil mereka robohkan segera disusul gelombang berikutnya. Mereka tidak memiliki waktu untuk bernapas.
Mu Qingyun, Luo Bing, dan Luo Ning juga terpaksa membunuh dengan segenap kekuatan. Mereka harus membunuh sebanyak mungkin untuk mengurangi tekanan pada yang lain.
Setiap kali Mu Qingyun menebaskan pedangnya, Qi Pedang menyapu keluar dan menyebabkan gelombang makhluk iblis roboh. Di hadapannya, mereka selemah kertas.
Setiap tebasan pedangnya membunuh puluhan makhluk iblis. Dari sini, bisa dikatakan bahwa daya bunuh seorang kultivator pedang sungguh mengerikan.
Pada saat yang sama, kekuatan garis keturunan Luo Bing dan Luo Ning meledak. Ketika pedang-pedang rune mereka turun seperti hujan, makhluk-makhluk iblis itu tercabik-cabik. Ketiga wanita itu memiliki daya bunuh yang luar biasa.
Namun, meski begitu, tekanan pada keseluruhan formasi terus meningkat. Jumlah makhluk iblis yang harus mereka bunuh terlalu banyak. Jika mereka sedikit saja mengendur, lebih banyak makhluk akan berkumpul. Jika itu terjadi, para murid biasa akan berada di bawah tekanan yang lebih besar. Para murid penyembuh juga sangat sibuk, dan formasi mulai sedikit kacau.
Melihat keadaan ini, Mu Qingyun, Luo Bing, dan Luo Ning tidak lagi menahan diri. Qi Pedang Mu Qingyun meningkat secara eksplosif, sementara sebuah tanda aneh muncul di dahi Luo Bing. Dia mengamuk di medan perang sambil mengendalikan ratusan pedang rune.
Begitu ketiganya mengerahkan seluruh kekuatan, tekanan pada formasi berkurang. Tanda-tanda formasi yang mulai kacau juga menghilang. Formasi kembali stabil, dan mereka perlahan terbiasa dengan pertempuran berintensitas tinggi ini.
Sementara itu, Long Chen mengawasi medan perang dari atas platform, sedangkan para pemanah di sekelilingnya terus menembakkan anak panah. Tubuh mereka semua berlumuran keringat. Mereka memikul tanggung jawab terbesar. Jika mereka tidak memperkuat area mana pun yang berada di bawah tekanan, seluruh formasi bisa runtuh.
Long Chen telah memberi mereka tugas untuk tidak membiarkan satu pun murid mati. Kalau tidak, mereka tidak akan diajari Panah Penembus Awan. Di bawah tekanan dari segala arah, mereka memusatkan perhatian dan tidak berani memperlambat serangan.
Dengan bantuan Mu Qingyun, Luo Bing, dan Luo Ning, formasi itu berdiri kokoh. Namun, bahkan setelah dua jam, jumlah makhluk iblis tidak berkurang. Sebaliknya, semakin banyak yang muncul.
Dua jam pertempuran ini terasa seperti siang dan malam penuh bagi para murid yang bertarung. Energi mereka mulai habis. Bahkan Luo Bing dan yang lainnya mulai kehabisan yuan spiritual karena bertarung dengan kecepatan setinggi ini.
Alih-alih menjadi lebih mudah, pertempuran justru semakin sulit. Di bawah tekanan, formasi kembali mulai kacau dan orang-orang terus terluka. Kini, para murid penyembuh memiliki pekerjaan yang seolah tak ada habisnya.
“Long Chen, kita tidak bisa terus seperti ini!” Luo Bing melihat sosok-sosok tak terhitung yang terus menerjang ke arah mereka. Jika terus begini, mereka benar-benar akan mati.
“Jangan khawatir. Selama kalian bisa bertahan dua jam lagi, semua makhluk iblis ini akan terbunuh,” hibur Long Chen sambil menatap kejauhan.
Dua jam lagi? Li Cai hampir memuntahkan darah. Energi mereka telah turun hingga tujuh puluh persen, dan pengurasannya hanya akan meningkat secara eksponensial. Belum lagi dua jam, bahkan waktu satu batang dupa pun terasa terlalu lama.
“Long Chen, orang-orang akan mati!” teriak Luo Ning dengan suara cemas. Korban besar akan berjatuhan di antara para murid kedua guild.
“Kultivasi bukan permainan. Kultivasi berarti menghadapi kematian. Jika kalian memang tidak ditakdirkan menjadi ahli, kalian hanya akan mati dengan penuh penyesalan di tangan musuh. Jika itu memang harus terjadi, aku lebih suka kalian semua mati di sini. Setidaknya, kalian masih bisa menyelamatkan sedikit harga diri,” kata Long Chen dengan dingin, tanpa belas kasihan sedikit pun.
Hati Luo Bing dan yang lainnya terasa dingin. Mereka tidak mengerti mengapa Long Chen tiba-tiba mengucapkan kata-kata sekejam itu.
“Tidak ada hasil tanpa pengorbanan. Jika ingin menjadi ahli, kalian harus membayar harganya. Di mataku, kalian semua hanyalah sampah yang menunggu kematian. Jika berada di duniaku, kalian pasti sudah lama mati di bawah bilah ras iblis. Para pengecut seperti kalian ternyata ingin menonjol dan masuk ke peringkat seratus besar guild? Kalian ingin bersaing dengan keluarga Chu? Menurutku, sebaiknya kalian menyerah saja. Kalian bahkan tidak memiliki tekad untuk menjadi lebih kuat. Daripada mati di tangan Chu Yang dan mempermalukan leluhur kalian, lebih baik kalian mati di sini,” ejek Long Chen.
Kata-katanya bagaikan anak panah beracun yang menghujam hati mereka. Mereka merasa dipermalukan sekaligus murka.
“Diam! Jangan kira hanya kaulah yang mampu menjadi ahli!” teriak Luo Ning dengan marah.
“Kalau begitu, jadilah ahli dan tunjukkan kepadaku. Aku, Long Chen, akan menantikannya,” kata Long Chen sambil duduk di atas platform.
Tepat pada saat itu, semakin banyak makhluk iblis mengepung mereka. Seiring tekanan yang terus meningkat, formasi mereka semakin terdesak dan berada di ambang kehancuran. Begitu formasi itu runtuh, mereka semua akan musnah.
“Boss San, can you not go in a step-by-step manner?!”
Li Cai and the others almost pissed themselves when they saw the tide of devil creatures crashing down upon them. They were practically endless.
“Cultivation is a race against time. The moment you take a breather, your enemies run past you. Once you’re passed, you will be washed out. And the consequence of that is death. The survival of the fittest is the core principle, and it is cruel. If you are not cruel to yourself, your future will be far crueler,” said Long Chen indifferently.
The devil creatures roared. There was nowhere for Long Chen and the others to hide. This terrain was extremely unfavorable to them as they were surrounded on all sides.
However, now that the enemies had come, they had no choice but to go all-out. They took out their weapons and faced them head-on.
Li Cai and the others clenched their teeth and attacked. As a result, blood and flesh flew through the air. Li Cai and the others’ killing power was truly great, but there were also too many devil creatures. For each one they killed, another took its place. For each wave they knocked down, another wave crashed upon them. There was no time to breathe.
Mu Qingyun, Luo Bing, and Luo Ning were also forced to kill with all their power. They had to kill as many as possible to lessen the pressure on everyone else.
With every slash of Mu Qingyun’s sword, Sword Qi swept out, causing waves of devil creatures to collapse. They were as weak as paper in front of her.
She killed dozens of them with every slash of her sword. From this, it could be said that a sword cultivator’s killing power was extremely frightening.
At the same time, Luo Bing and Luo Ning’s bloodline power erupted. As their runic swords rained down, the devil creatures were torn through by them. All the three ladies had immense killing power.
However, despite that, the pressure on the whole formation only continued to grow. There were too many devil creatures for them to kill. If they slacked the slightest bit, more would gather. If that happened, these ordinary disciples would be put under greater pressure. The healing disciples were also incredibly busy, and the formation became a bit chaotic.
Seeing this situation, Mu Qingyun, Luo Bing, and Luo Ning couldn’t hold back. Mu Qingyun’s Sword Qi grew explosively, while a strange mark appeared on Luo Bing’s forehead. She ran rampant through the battlefield while controlling hundreds of runic swords.
Once the three of them were going all-out, the pressure on the formation lessened. The signs of it growing disorderly also vanished. The formation stabilized, and they gradually grew accustomed to this high-intensity battle.
Meanwhile, Long Chen overlooked the battlefield from the platform, and the archers around him were constantly shooting. All of them were covered in sweat. They had the greatest responsibility. If they didn’t reinforce whichever areas were under pressure, it could cause a whole collapse in the formation.
Long Chen had given them the mission not to allow any disciple to die. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be taught the Cloud Piercing Arrow. Under the pressure from all sides, they focused, not daring to slow down.
With the help of Mu Qingyun, Luo Bing, and Luo Ning, the formation stood solidly. But even after two hours, the number of devil creatures didn’t drop. Instead, more and more of them appeared.
These two hours of combat felt as long as a whole day and night to the disciples fighting. They were running out of energy. Even Luo Bing and the others were starting to run out of spiritual yuan with this high pace of fighting.
Rather than getting easier, the fighting only grew more difficult. The formation was starting to get chaotic again under the pressure, and people were constantly injured. Now, the healing disciples had endless work.
“Long Chen, we can’t continue like this!” Luo Bing saw countless figures continuing to rush toward them. They really would die like this.
“Don’t worry, as long as you can last another two hours, these devil creatures will all be killed,” comforted Long Chen as he gazed into the distance.
Another two hours? Li Cai almost coughed up blood. They had dropped down to seventy percent of their energy, and the drain would only grow exponentially. Let alone two hours, even an incense stick’s worth of time was too much.
“Long Chen, people will die!” shouted Luo Ning, her voice anxious. Huge casualties would appear amongst the disciples of both guilds.
“Cultivation isn’t a game. It is facing death. If you are fated to not become an expert, you will only die an aggrieved death to your enemies’ hands. If that has to happen, I would rather have all of you die here. At least, you’ll save some dignity,” said Long Chen coldly without the slightest compassion.
Luo Bing and the others’ hearts turned cold. They didn’t know why Long Chen would suddenly say such cruel words.
“There is no reaping without sowing. If you want to become an expert, you must pay the price. In my eyes, all of you are trash waiting for death. If you were in my world, all of you would have long since died to the devil race’s blades. Cowards like you actually want to stand out and get in the top hundred guild rankings? You want to compete with the Chu family? If you want my opinion, you should give up. You don’t even have the determination to get stronger. Rather than dying at Chu Yang’s hands and disgracing your ancestors, you might as well die here,” sneered Long Chen.
His words were like poisonous arrows shooting into their hearts. They were aggrieved and infuriated.
“None of you understand what it means to be an expert. When their spiritual yuan is exhausted, a true expert will fight with their Spiritual Strength. If their Spiritual Strength is exhausted, they’ll fight with their physical strength. If their physical strength is exhausted, they’ll fight with their willpower. None of you understand what the will is. Even if your weapon is gone, even if your body is mutilated, when you still do everything just to bite your opponent to death, you are fighting with your will. If you can’t even reach such a level, if you want to retreat just because you encounter a strong opponent, do you think you can be an expert? Are you trying to make others laugh to death? I’ll tell you the truth right now. If you are killed before all your physical energy is exhausted, I won’t help you. I, Long Chen, will not lead a group of cowards. I can’t embarrass myself like that,” said Long Chen.
“Shut up! Don’t think that you’re the only one capable of becoming an expert!” shouted Luo Ning angrily.
“Then go ahead and become experts for me to see. I, Long Chen, am watching expectantly,” said Long Chen, sitting down on the platform.
Just at this moment, more and more devil creatures surrounded them. As the pressure grew and grew, their formation was pressed down more and more, on the verge of collapsing. Once it broke, they would be wiped out.
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